Lung cancer was diagnosed in 446 patients during four years in a population living in a defined geographical area in northern Finland. The series comprised 420 men and 26 women, with a male/female ratio of 16-6:1. The diagnosis was confirmed histologically or cytologically in 431 cases (97 %). Epidermoid carcinoma was the most common histological type of tumour in the men, followed by small cell anaplastic and adenocarcinoma, whereas in the women all these types were of equal frequency. Almost all the men, but only about half of the women, were smokers or ex-smokers. The amount smoked daily had no correlation with the histological type of cancer, whereas those patients who had started smoking early had relatively more Kreyberg group I tumours (epidermoid, small cell, and large cell carcinoma) than those who had started smoking late. Cancer was usually detected on the basis of symptoms, but 17% emerged from mass radiography or some health examination, and 12 % from examinations for another disease. Fifteen per cent of the patients had no symptoms at the time of diagnosis, this being more common among the patients with epidermoid or adenocarcinoma than among those with anaplastic forms.

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Saliva contains several factors that protect the alimentary canal mucosa against acidity. We measured the secretory carbonic anhydrase (CA VI) levels in the saliva of patients with gastrointestinal disorders using a time-resolved immunofluorometric assay. The mean enzyme concentrations were found to be lower in patients with verified esophagitis, gastric ulcer, or duodenal ulcer than in control patients with nonacid peptic diseases. The biochemical data from the enzyme activity assays and western blots of the human gastric mucosa and gastric juice samples indicated that the swallowed CA VI probably retains its activity in the harsh environment of the gastric lumen. In the upper alimentary canal, CA VI may neutralize the acid by catalyzing the formation of carbon dioxide and water. The present findings suggest that drugs supplemented with CA VI may prove beneficial in treating acid-peptic diseases.

Summary.To investigate the effect of diabetes on the lipid composition of the lungs and of the pulmonary artery, 43 streptozotocin diabetic rats and 43 control rats were examined. Triglyceride deposits were observed by a histochemical method in the branches of the pulmonary artery in 10 diabetic rats but in none of the controls. In the pulmonary tissue of the diabetic rats the total lipid content was not different from that of control animals, but the relative amount of phospholipids was decreased (p<0.001), and that of non-esterified fatty acids (p<0.001) and triglycerides (p<0.05) increased as compared to the control rats. These results indicate abnormalities in the lipid metabolism of the pulmonary artery and lungs during insulin deficiency.